Best Dive Bar

Gusoline Alley

Staff Pick, Readers' Choice

Courtesy photoGusoline Alley.

309 S. Center St., Royal Oak; 248-545-2235

In the heart of swanky downtown Royal Oak is a hole-in-the-wall bar by the train tracks where the lights are kept low and the cheap beer always flows. If fruity cocktails with exotics names aren’t your thing, find your way to Gusoline for a shot and a beer. But Gusoline Alley’s main attraction is its jukebox opposite the bar — it’s stacked with CDs from rockers and spike-haired punks from yesteryear. Walk in on a given night and you’re sure to hear deep cuts from the Rolling Stones, Bowie, or the Clash playing. If bar games are your thing, Gusoline has a “Rollercoaster Tycoon” pinball machine and a dart board waiting for you. When you want to grab a quick beer before a show at Royal Oak Music Theatre or have an unpretentious drink in Detroit’s most pretentious suburb, Gusoline Alley is the place to go. —Anthony Spak